Various aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to transmission systems and specifically to improvements in the technical field of continuously variable transmissions.
A transmission (e.g., for a bicycle, automobile, generator, etc.) is a machine that controls power supplied by a power source via an input shaft with a gear. The transmission typically includes several differently sized gears that offer different gear ratios for the gear of the input shaft. When the input shaft rotates, the gear of the input shaft engages one of the gears of the transmission, which results in a different rotational speed (i.e., angular velocity) on the engaged gear than on the gear of the input shaft. Further, the lower rotational speed of the engaged gear results in a higher torque output.
In many transmissions, the gears are at discrete ratios. However, in a continuously variable transmission (CVT), the gears include continuous ratios, which can allow for an infinite number of gear ratios between a high ratio and a low ratio. Further, a continuously variable transmission does not require a clutch to transition between the different gears of the continuously variable transmission.